Pros
Fixed an old Macally Dotmouse, reversed scroll-wheel action. The Dotmouse preferences in System Prefs wouldn't open (grayed-out 'continue' button, no solution). BUT...
Cons
...USB Overdrive then made a shambles of the other installed wired/wireless USB devices' functions.
(From the get go, this app will 10-second delay nag you for a donation every time you go into its prefs, which is terrible when fixing something
I carefully followed the vendor's instructions that were supposed to work around these (known) issues, and eventually wound up with a mouse-pointer stuck on the apps pref drag area like your hand stuck on duct-tape. Clobbered the keyboard. Couldn't do force quit. The disable changing other peripheral's function didn't work, and it started adding sound functions (!?) to the mouse's function, and a whole list of bizarre anomalies. It was either kill my brand new Mini's power switch, or figure out something less drastic.
So, just pulled out the mouse's usb and put back in. Now I could force-quit System Preferences altogether. Then I could set to work. Almost hearing the app's voice as Hal: "Dave... what are you doing Dave. Please stop...Dave...
Summary
If you like playing Russian Roulette with a brand new Mac and Mountain Lion, give this utility a spin. In the 20+ years of using Macs, I've never seen an app go so wrong so fast on such a brand-new presumably bullet-proof machine. So this is why the vendor's app is not certified, I guess.
I prefer to get a new mouse, or else learn to love the wrong-way scrolling until Macally posts a new driver.
Reply to this review
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Pros
I'm using a 5-button Razer Imperator, whose own software comes with a crippled Mac pref pane that doesn't allow button customization. After upgrading from Overdrive X, everything's working perfectly.
Cons
I haven't found anything wrong with it yet, but I don't game on my Mac (I KVM with a PC).
Summary
I posted a reply to the review above, explaining how to fix the problem he's having, but I'm only using 10.4.11. I'm switching to 10.6 soon, so if my solution doesn't work with that, I'll come back on here and say so.
This is a very useful (I would say necessary) product. Apple should build all this functionality into the system already.
Updated on Nov 19, 2010
Depending on how you have reviews sorted, the one I replied to may not be "above" mine :-).
Reply to this review
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Pros
This software has been good in the past, although after experiencing the bug in this version, I am beginning to suspect that USB Overdrive may be the source of previous conflicts I have been experiencing with Snow Leopard 10.6.4.
Cons
After installing the USB Overdrive mouse driver the volume control keys on the keyboard stopped working. A restart of the OS would not restore the sound keys on the keyboard. Uninstalling USB Overdrive 3.01 solved it. It conflicts with Mac OS 10.6.4
Summary
I highly suspect the earlier versions of USB Overdrive may have also had this bug although the conflict expressed itself intermittently. Although not always, but frequently I would lose the use of the sound control keys on the keyboard. A restart solved the issue. I suspect that this driver was causing other instabilities as my iMac has been much more stable since removing this driver.
I am using a Logitech optical mouse. I was led to believe by the documentation that came with the mouse Logitech did not provide a mouse driver for Mac OS X. When I had a major conflict with USB Overdrive I did a Google search and found a driver called "Logitech Control Center" for Mac OS X. This driver works perfectly. If you are using a Logitech mouse on a Mac go to the Logitech web page and download it now! Now I have a stable Mac. :)
Reply to this review
Read reply (1)
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Reply by btvirtus on November 19, 2010
I had this same issue with 10.4.11 but fixed it. Go to the Overdrive pref pane, open the menu near the top and go down to "Any Other, Any Application" and deselect "Enabled". This will keep Overdrive from messing up your audio controls. If this works for you, come back and change your rating :-).
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
I paid for 3.0.1 in an attempt to substitute it for the horribly buggy Logitech Control Center. The documentation is fairly incomprehensible (I say this as an editor and longtime student of foreign languages), and even after I did the basic setup I experienced a problem where the keyboard would become unresponsive until I opened System Prefs/Keyboard & Mouse. Didn't have to DO anything after opening; that was enough to reconnect.
Having to do this multiple times a week just didn't work for me. I now use Apple's preferences and can live with not being able to use many of the special keys and mouse buttons on my input devices.
Reply to this review
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
I gave USB Overdrive another try, despite difficulties in the past, because others speak so highly of it. This time it worked exactly as intended. However, I soon realized that my volume keys and eject key no longer worked. After uninstalling USB Overdrive, my keyboard resumed acting normally.
Reply to this review
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
USB Overdrive has been the dominant 3rd party mouse driver for quite some time and been an absolute necessity for more demanding users due to OS X's scarce customizability and poor handling of 3rd party mice and keyboards.
While its previous versions have been limited to controlling and customizing the mouse, 3.0 can also control keyboards, effectively eliminating the need for other drivers such as Logitech Control Center, drivers which often has proven to be unstable, incompatible and incomplete.
Highly recommended.
Reply to this review
Was this review helpful?
-101
-101
Please Wait
